Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov commented on the statement made by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe on before the talks with Vladimir Putin. According to RIA Novosti news agency, it is the speech in which the Prime Minister spoke about the fate of the residents of the Kuril Islands after their transition to Japanese jurisdiction. “They have complicated the negotiation process, that's for sure,” stated Ushakov on Russia TV.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe will consider the possibility of signing a peace treaty with Russia if Russia guarantees to give Japan the islands of Shikotan and Habomai, the Kyodo news agency reports, citing sources in the Japanese government. According to the sources, the transfer of the islands Iturup and Kunashir appears unrealistic at present. They note that, according to Abe’s plan, the islands Shikotan and Habomai must be handed over to Japan de facto.

Another Russian, Alexander Zhukov, accused of internet fraud has been extradited to the US.

Zhukov, known by the nickname Nastra, lived in Petersburg and was detained in Bulgaria. He is currently detained in one of New York’s remand prisons. “[Russian] consular staff in New York are going to visit a compatriot in prison soon,” Russian Embassy reported.

Last autumn, Washington accused Zhukov of committing internet advertising fraud in the amount of $7 million dollars. Arrests in this case …

The US citizen Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of spying, is believed by the investigation to have been collecting information about one of the Russian intelligence agencies. This could have been the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) or the Federal Security Service (FSB), a source close to the investigation told the Russian news outlet Dozhd.

According to the source, the FSB started investigating Whelan in May 2018, during his …